Chillicothe, Ohio: After winning the two opening games, the No. 1 Denison Big Red earned a spot in the NCAC championship at VA Memorial Stadium. The Big Red downed John Carroll in round one before sending DePauw into the loser's bracket with a 5-3 decision. Wittenberg however, got to the championship the hard way, dropping its opener versus DePauw before fighting its way through the loser's bracket with an 18-4 win to send John Carroll home and a walkoff 9-8 victory to knockout DePauw.
The first two meetings between the nationally ranked conference foes, with Dension taking both games by just one run. The championship matchup was nothing short of spectacular. Denison mashed 13 hits and two homers en route to claiming its 7th straight conference tournament championship in a 14-8 decision.
With the win, Denison earned win number 40 on the year and heads into the NCAA Championship with a 40-1 record and 39 consecutive wins. Junior Andrew Fazio was named the Tournament MVP.
NCAC Tournament Championship: No.1 Denison 14, No. 13 Wittenberg 8
In the championship game of the NCAC tournament, the Wittenberg Tigers pounced first, plating three runs on four hits in the top of the first. The Tigers had the bases loaded, but Robbie Lee was able to escape the jam and limit the damage. The Big Red were able to steal a run back in the bottom of the frame courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Erik Sundgren.
In the second, the Tigers continued to grow the lead in the second with a perfectly executed hit and run by Xander Rodriguez to take a 4-1 lead. However, the Big Red snapped back with a five-run bottom of the frame, kickstarted by a two-run homer of the left field wall by Nate Lloyd. Following the homer, the Big Red loaded the bags with two walks and a double from Eron Vega. Sundgren drew a walk to tie it up at 4-4 before Andrew Fazio laced a two-RBI single into right field to take a 6-4 lead.
For the next two frames, the momentum swung in favor of the Tigers. To lead off the top of the third, Daniel Gladden smoked a solo homer over the centerfield wall and in the fourth inning, a string of knocks plated three runs to take an 8-6 lead over the Big Red. This marked the final runs for Wittenberg.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Big Red clawed back from the deficit and plated five runs, catalyzed by an RBI single from Cade Nowik. In the following at-bat, Kelly Crittenberger cleared the bags with a three-run homer to deep right center. Jack Lutte punctuated the inning with an RBI line drive into right field to take an 11-8 lead.
Over the next frames, the two high-octane offenses were shut down by the pitching staffs. However, in the top of the eighth, the Tigers loaded the bases with one out. Ryan Paganelis made his 22nd appearance out of the bullpen in relief of Max Mullen. The senior right recorded a swinging strike three and got a grounder rolled to Nowik to escape the inning scoreless and hold tight to the lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Big Red extended the lead with three insurance runs, one from an error and two from a Crittenberger single. In the top of the ninth inning, Parker shut down the side and secured Denison's 7th consecutive tournament title and punched the ticket into the NCAA tournament.
The pitching staff of Lee, Soren Cooper, Mullen, Paganelis, and Parker battled hard against the national leader in team batting average. The staff struck out three and were able to hold the lead. Mullen earned his first win of the season. Fazio was fantastic behind the dish in support of the bullpen on his way to earning Tournament MVP.
At the plate, the lineup was led by Vega, who went 3-4, and Crittenberger, who tallied five RBIs. Crittenberger and Lloyd collected the two homers for Denison. Vega collected the only other extra-base hit with a double. The Big Red, alongside 13 hits, tallied 12 walks to pace the lineup.Â
2026 NCAC All-Tournament Team:
George Haracz - John Carroll
Louis Florida - DePauw
Xander Rodriguez - Wittenberg
Tommy Chilicki - Wittenberg
Corbin Marshall - Wittenberg
Alex Nemunaitus - Wittenberg
Jack Rollo - Dension
Jack Lutte - Denison
Kelly Crittenberger - Denison
Justin Benes (P) - DePauw
Will Rettig (P) - Denison
MVP: Andrew Fazio - Denison
Up Next: After earning the automatic qualifying bid for the NCAC, the Big Red will await the NCAA Regional Draw for the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Division III selection show will air live on ncaa.com Monday, May 11, at 12:00 p.m.
